Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Rich Hill- The New Power of Zero

Fun and interesting fact about the Boston Red Sox reliever Rich Hill, he hasn't allowed an earned run since joining the team in 2010. Without context, that sounds like an amazing feat, when in actuality, it's good, but not as impressive as you would think. The 31 year old lefty has only appeared in 13 games for the BoSox in the past 2 seasons (6 last year and 7 so far in '11). However, he does boast a 0.00 ERA in 11 innings with 13 K's. He's definitely someone to keep an eye on as manager Terry Francona is starting to lean on him in pressure situations.

For his career, Hill has a much less spectacular 4.74 ERA in a much larger sample size (406.1 IP). He was once a promising young starting pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization that has battled through arm problems over the past few seasons. He has seemed to have found a comfortable and conducive home in the bullpen.